Had an email from a fellow cat fan Jo White:

Our two cats are developing increasingly sophisticated appetites….they still have canned food but do occasionally like to have the food that comes in small foil trays. I’m loathe to throw them out and I don’t have a garden so re-using them for plant seedlings isn’t a solution unfortunately. Can they be recycled anywhere in the UK?

If they’re just foil, I think they can be recycled along with aluminium foil – is that right? if not, can they be recycled any other way?

And what about reuses? Any non-gardeny suggestions for Jo?

(Photo by Jo)

The moulded polystyrene post last week reminded me that we haven’t thought about that other packaging staple yet – bubble wrap.

The most obvious re-use is to, well, just re-use it for its intended purpose again – but has any one got any interesting suggestions other than just packing up items for the mail or for storage?

And what if some dastardly scamp (usually me in our house) has popped all the bubbles? It loses its padding and protective qualities but I bet it can still be used for other things. Suggestions?

(Photo by fish)

Kate’s other suggestion was expanded polystyrene foam packaging because while we’ve covered loose polystyrene peanuts and sheets of foam, we haven’t mentioned those nasty squeaky environmental nightmares yet.

Any ideas for moulded polystyrene that supports electrical stuff in transit? I can’t believe manufacturers aren’t forced to collect it, chibble it up and remould it into something else. Hate throwing it in the bin but what else can you do with it?

Despite hating the feel and sound of it when it rubs against itself (iccccccck), I break it up to use at the bottom of plant pots or to raise the pot a bit higher if it’s sitting low in a planter – but that’s usually just because I’ve not thought of anything else to do with it and it’s just sitting there in the garden when I need something vaguely it shaped.

So any other suggestions?
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Had an email last week from Kate Spencer. She had lots of good ideas for ways we can develop the sites (thanks Kate!) and a couple of suggestions so here’s the first:

I’m busy tidying up after Christmas, and because I have a 3 year old I have lots of those annoying plastic ties that manufacturers use to fasten toys into the packaging.

She realises there are some obvious reuses – such as bag-ties, “I fastened our Christmas lights onto our balcony with them” and to tie-up plants in the garden – but wanted to know if anyone has any other suggestions.

For anyone not familiar with what she means, it’s little thin strips of wire coated in plastic that can be bent over and the ends twisted together to make a secure (ish) tie. They’re also used in computer components packaging and that sort of thing. The photo is of the lightweight sandwich bag equivalent – because I couldn’t find any others. : )

(Oh, and happy new year everyone!)

At this time of year, a lot people end up eating more than their of own body weight in individually wrapped chocolates and as pleasurable as it is to undo all those little tiny chocolately presents, it’s a whole lot of packaging going to waste too.

Around here (and at my mum and dad’s house), said wrappers instantly become cat toys but ones that are only interesting until the point the cat actually catches them (fickle cats that they are).

So what else can we do with them once the cats are bored? I’m thinking particularly those ones that fold out to be squares of transparent plastic or foil because they seem to be the most obviously reusable but any suggestions are welcome, of course.

(Photo by Gastonmag – insert your own “But Ambassador…” joke here)